Angel Hernandez, quite possibly the most screamed-at umpire in the history of MLB, has decided to retire, effective immediately.
“Starting with my first Major League game in 1991, I have had the very good experience of living out my childhood dream of umpiring in the major leagues,” Hernandez said in a statement. “There is nothing better than working at a profession that you enjoy. I treasured the camaraderie of my colleagues and the friendships I have made along the way, including our locker room attendants in all the various cities.
“I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family. Needless to say, there have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession. This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a Major League umpire.”
Hernandez worked as a major league umpire for 33 years. While he certainly will remember his impact on the game in other areas, players, managers, media, and fans will likely remember him most for some of the most inexplicably bad calls in the history of the game.
Some of his career high(or low)lights can be found here:
1) A bad Angel Hernandez call induces one of the greatest outbursts of emotion on a baseball field of all-time from Kyle Schwarber pic.twitter.com/al1lHW4QzC
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
2) Wyatt Langford is thrown 3 balls that are 17 feet away from the plate.
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
All 3 of them are called strikes. pic.twitter.com/2NAkExspLk
3) Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis blatantly steps off the mound before throwing a pitch
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
Angel Hernandez does not care, allows Francis to throw the pitch, and then calls a ball well above the zone a strike. pic.twitter.com/qtkp0i6tPv
4) Angel ejects Bryce Harper after making one of the most egregious called check swings ever pic.twitter.com/xwk2X32cR7
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
5) Angel completely blows a call at 1st base that would’ve given the White Sox the win and announcer Hawk Harrelson loses it pic.twitter.com/SD7WCskpOQ
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
And again, these are but a few of the misses by Hernandez. The much-maligned ump sued MLB for racial discrimination in 2017, claiming that he had been held back from World Series assignments and a crew chief position due to his race. The lawsuit failed, and an appeals court upheld the ruling.
“Hernández has failed to establish a statistically significant disparity between the promotion rates of white and minority umpires,” the appeals court held. “MLB has provided persuasive expert evidence demonstrating that, during the years at issue, the difference in crew chief promotion rates between white and minority umpires was not statistically significant. Hernández offers no explanation as to why MLB’s statistical evidence is unreliable.”
Hernandez has been working out a financial settlement with the league over the past few weeks. The two sides came to an agreement this weekend.
Hernandez began umpiring in MLB in 1993.
